Operation Walk Boston 2014: Day 4

Day 4 of our journey marked a significant milestone, with the first of our post-operative joint replacement patients being discharged home.  Per criteria of our Physical Therapy team, discharge home requires that patients are able to walk on their own as well as go up and down one flight of stairs. Discharge home represents the culmination of an incredible team effort and hard work on the part of both the patient and the medical team to provide patients with a better quality of life.

From start to finish, here is a look at the perioperative course of our Operation Walk patients.    

DAY OF SURGERY

Mornings start early in the operating room, with the OR staff and anesthesia and surgical teams checking in the first patient of the day in the pre-operative area prior to heading back to the operating room.

Orthopaedic surgery residents Carl, Ellen, and Lauren get ready to scrub before cases in the OR.

An x-ray of the pelvis of one of the patients on whom a total hip replacement was performed today.  Many of our patients are younger individuals with advanced disease of the hips.

Anesthesia resident Zahra preps a patient for a spinal anesthetic prior to surgery.

Sarah, Dr. Ready, and Fiona share some smiles in between cases.

Drs. Schumacher and Thornhill perform a total knee replacement.

RECOVERY ROOM

Our fantastic team of PACU nurses receive the patients right after they came out of the OR, making sure their vital signs are stable and their pain is well-controlled.

Julia and an UNIBE medical student welcome a post-operative patient into the PACU.

Julia, Cara, Karen and an UNIBE medical student are all smiles in the PACU.

Dr. Concepcion, one of our anesthesiologists, greets a patient in the recovery room.

FOLLOWING SURGERY

On the day of surgery, the patients are encouraged to sit on the edge of the bed and start simple physical therapy exercises in bed.  By the first day after surgery, however, the expectations are high.  Patients begin walking with walkers and close supervision on the first post-operative day and tackle the stairs by the next day.

Physical therapist Steph watches closely as one of her patients begins walking.

Steph takes the same patient up and down the stairs one day later.

Physical therapist Emily accompanies a patient on a walk around the wards while Chief Medical Officer Dr. Carl Harper looks on.

Physical therapist Carolyn and her patient gives a thumbs-up as he gets ready for discharge home.

Physical therapist Jill accompanies a patient down the stairs.

Dr. Ready masters a fist bump with his patient.

Two patients get ready to head home after their knee replacements.

"Secret agent" Julia greets a patient in the afternoon.

A happy patient heads home after a hip replacement 3 days ago, with the UNIBE medical students and physicians hosting Operation Walk offering encouragement.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

A special birthday wish today to Dr. Jeffrey Katz, a world-renowned rheumatologist and integral part of Operation Walk.

Happy Birthday, Dr. Katz!